在所有人的正常思维下，动词不定式充当后置定语都是隐含表示将来的动作意义或情态意义。如：
I have brought a book to read.
我带了一本书来看。
The woman to be married is beautiful.
那个将被娶的女人很漂亮。
Is he really a man to be trusted?
他真是一个可信赖的人吗？
He is a man to finish his task best.
他是完成任务最好的人。
Do you have anything to say?
你有什么要说的吗？
This is a delicious cake for you to eat.
这是一个给你吃的美味蛋糕。
She has a room to live in.
她有一间房子住。
He has a child to take care of.
他有一个孩子要照管。
Is that the way to do it?
这是做这个事情的方法吗？
You need a place to sleep.
你需要一个睡觉的地方。
Their decision to divorce was very firm.
他们 离婚的决定十分决绝。
He broke the promise to contact us regularly.
他没有履行经常联系我们的诺言。
The next train to arrive was from New York.
下一列到站的火车是从纽约开来的。
以不定式作定语的名词：
ability、anxiety、attempt、curiosity、decision、desire、disposition、failure、freedom、inclination、obligation、offer、permission、plan、promise、refusal、reluctance、temptation、tendency、willingness、wish、yearning等表示愿望、企图、打算、能力等意义的词。
今天重点要解析动词不定式充当后置定语何时可以表示过去时意义：
当先行词含有first，next, last或形容词最高级这样的词语时，其动词不定式充当后置定语都是隐含过去时意义，即动作已完成意义。如：
The last man to leave the sinking ship was the captain.
最后离开沉船的人是船长。
An innovator, ballerina Augusta Maywood was the first to form a traveling company.
芭蕾舞演员奥古斯塔·梅伍德是第一个成立旅游公司的创新者。
He was the first guest to arrive.他是第一个到达的客人。
The next train to arrive was from New York.
第二列到站的火车是从纽约开来的。
I arrived first. The next (one) to arrive was James.
我是第一个到达的人。第二个到达的是詹姆斯。
He was the second man to be killed this way.
他是第二个这样被杀害的人。
Miss Brown was the next person to rise to speak.布朗小姐是下一个起来发言的人。
He was the first man to fly across the Atlantic.
他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
The 1983 National Games for the Disabled, the first to be held in China, opened at the indoor stadium here Saturday night.
1983年全国残疾人运动会是中国第一届残疾人运动会，已于周六晚上在这里的室内体育场开幕。
She was one of the first to collect Picasso paintings.
她是最早收集毕加索画的人之一。
The deepest hole ever to be bored on land 25,340 feet——considerably less than the height of Mount Everest.(新概念3，L47)
陆地上有史以来最深的无聊钻孔25340英尺，远低于珠穆朗玛峰的高度。